Cañon City councillors strategize about #stormwater fees

During the Cañon City General Government Committee meeting Wednesday, Councilman John Hamrick said ratepayers need to understand that the council is looking at two different issues, the first being EPA compliance.

“We are required by the federal government to have a stormwater permit, to comply with that permit that requires us to spend money on certain actions, including establishing our own permitting program,” he said. “Right now, our stormwater fees are just taking care of that problem.”

On top of that, the city has a stormwater quantity problem.

“The monies to fix that problem is in a different bucket than the stormwater compliance problem,” he said. “The solutions for each problem are different and need to be developed differently.”

Councilman Jim Meisner recommended a two-fee approach, one for quantity and one for compliance, or quality…

Additionally, [Mayor Preston Troutman] said he’s in favor of the council considering credits that can be given for best management practices for detention facilities or for activities that go above and beyond the stormwater program requirements to reduce stormwater discharge, make improvements to water quality, develop low impact development practices and voluntary retrofit of existing best management practices.

The city staff will bring back more information on a credit system relative to quantity, the transfer fund and possible fees that are quantity and quality based at the end of February.